


A Royal Romance

by IceboundEmu



Category: LoveLink (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, M/M, MC aware of Family History, Non-Graphic Violence, Not so simple love story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:47:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27556312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IceboundEmu/pseuds/IceboundEmu
Summary: A not so oblivious to their family history MC meets the a real life Prince of an enemy Kingdom, falls in love and attempts to restore their country to its former glory, whilst rescuing said Prince from his own life.Or the way I would have loved to play Sheng's/Tomas's story.
Relationships: Jamie Grant/Skylar Quinn, Sheng Zhao/MC
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warning that this fic in places literally attempts to slap some sense into Sheng/Tomas. Hence the warning for some (minor) violence.
> 
> I also have no idea how to spell the name of the Kingdom I'm supposed to inherit. That's how good a ruler I would be in real life.

“Sheng, you do realise I’m the lost heir to Meneki, don’t you?”

On reflection you thought, Sheng must have felt like his world had fallen in around his ears. Dressed to the nines in all his royal finery the day before his coronation this probably wasn’t the conversation he’d been expecting when he realised that you’d snuck into the palace to talk to him. Admittedly though you also thought it wasn’t what Jin had in mind when he’d arranged to smuggle you in.

The sole heir to the kingdom of Pallay stared at you in shocked silence, blinking dumbly as the realisation of what you’d just said to him began to sink in. You watched as his brown eyes filled with tears a few escaping to trail down his cheeks before he grew frustrated at his loss of composure and scrubbed them away. In the minutes whilst he formulated a response you amused yourself by watching the emotions play across his face (he’d never make a good poker player) shock bled into horrified realisation to anger. It was anger that formed the first (and if you did this right his only) retaliation he tried.

“You chose to tell me that now?! What the hell was this all to you then? A Game?!”

You watched him with a detached disinterest as he spluttered the lines, wondering how the aides and bodyguards that surrounded him had managed to let him grow up without any understanding of how the real world worked. Not for the first time your heart gave a twinge at the unbelievable naivety with which Sheng approached life and you wondered whether it had been a conscious decision by those who surrounded him to keep him shielded from the vipers nest in which your Grandfather had assured you was the reality of life in the Royal Court.

It was tempered by a stab of annoyance at the condescending tone Sheng fall back on, a habit you thought you’d broken him out of after your first date, still, you reminded yourself, he’d had a lifetime to learn bad habits, you’d known him for a week.

“Yes Sheng, I flew halfway across the world for a game.” You let the sarcasm colour your words and took a deep breath before continuing, “Now do me a favour and shut the hell up. Oh, and try that tone on me again and I’ll slap you stupid, got it?”

To give him credit, Sheng was sensible enough to limit his response to gaping at you, dumbstruck at being spoken to in such a way. You let your eye rove across the room until you spotted a chair, which you gestured a with a flick of your wrist.

“Good. You can follow a simple instruction, so let’s try another one. Go sit down.”

“Who are **you** to tell **me** what to do?!”

He still had enough pride to attempt to assert himself over you again. A mistake on his part, which you were quick to correct him for. The ringing crack when you backhanded him for it let you know that you’d connected and that you’d done some hurt. He reeled away at the force of the blow but ended up in the seat you’d indicated clutching his cheek (which must have been burning), watching you with terror in his eyes. You doubted anyone had ever raised a hand to him in his life and felt a pang of regret that it was you who’d had to deliver such a rude awakening to him.

“As I already told you. Sole heir to Meneki. A country the Liu’s have been systematically tearing apart on behalf of **your** family since your father took power. For which they’ve been promised the reward of ruling Pallay via Meiling’s soon to be announced marriage to you.”

You studied his face as you spoke, watching what remained of his innocent world crumbled, satisfying you that at least in this he’d been unaware, or perhaps oblivious of the machinations that surrounded him. You covered the distance between you in a few steps, gently peeling away his hand from where it shielded his sore face and rubbing what you hoped were soothing fingers across the livid red outline of your handprint. He surrendered to the touch for mere moments before jerking away with a hiss as the urge for comfort battled with what remained of his royal pride. He did remain seated though, perhaps fearing more punishment should you decide he was being too defiant.

“…I want you to leave…”

It took a moment for you to process that he’d spoken, the pained and trembling tone so unlike any way he’d addressed you before. Pursing your lips you bit back the impulse to coo at his pitiful plea before once again closing the gap between you and trailing your fingers down his face. Sheng flinched at the touch but stayed still this time, though, thinking about it, if he’d jerked away he would have probably cracked his head on one of the ornamental pillars that littered the room.

“Sheng, I’m going nowhere. If I leave here before we decide what we’re going to do to sort this out my next stop will be the media and I’ll watch your entire county turn on the ruling class when this hits the front page of the papers.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to the beginning, where a plan is hatched

“Ah, I wish you could have seen how Meneki used to be before all this, it was so beautiful once”

Your Grandfather discarded the newspaper he previously been showing you, the headline proclaiming the assassination of a prominent general in the army. However the bomb that had ended his life had been set off in the middle of a bustling town, and the papers bemoaned the ever spiralling violence the region was experiencing, spewing the same tired platitudes amidst the ever rising death toll. 

You listened carefully, your Grandfather so rarely spoke of his life as part of the Royal Family, preferring instead to focus on stories of how his life had been after he’d abdicated and fled the country, taking on an assumed name and travelling to America, where he’d met and married your Grandmother. 

“Why did you leave?”

“I saw my life for what it was going to be, an arranged marriage to strengthen the throne, endless petty bickering with Pallay, the expectations of passing the whole mess onto the next generation. The Liu’s…”

You saw the flicker of anger cross your Grandfather’s face, the emotion vanished almost as quickly as it came, replaced by a sad exhaustion as he dwelled on the memories of a life he’d left behind almost fifty years ago.

“Who are the Liu’s?”

You hazarded another question, hopeful of another titbit of information on a life that was beyond your imagining.

“They’re pure evil. A minor family of nobles in my time, they’ve spent years clawing their way into power in Pallay by making themselves indispensable to the monarchy. Everything bad that happens to Meneki, mark my words their hands will have been in it somewhere.”

“But what could they hope to gain by it?”

“They have a daughter the same age as the crown prince of Pallay. A marriage between them would give the Liu’s complete control of Pallay. When they have that they’ll burn Meneki to the ground”

You remained quiet for a moment, considering your next words carefully.

“Why do they hate Meneki that much?”

Your Grandfather paused before responding.

“Because when I left, I robbed them of their chance of ruling Meneki as well.”

Your Grandfather fell silent and you knew the conversation was over, rising to your feet you took this as your cue to leave him to his thoughts.

********************

Walking home you took time to think over what you’d learnt. Your heart ached for your Grandfather and his pain at watching the place he’d grew up in be systematically destroyed, but you’d little idea of what you could do to help. 

Contrary to every movie you’d watched, knowing that you were secretly Royalty, or finding out about it did precious little to make your life any easier. If anything, it made things more complex because if you started spouting things like that to anyone and everyone, you’d likely end up being committed.

But where to start trying to rescue a country from an evil influence? You rolled your eyes, if you’d seen that as a summary of a movie, you’d have probably laughed yourself sick.

Your phone ringing broke you from your line of thought, you checked out the caller ID, a smile breaking across your face at the unexpected caller.

“Jamie!!! How’s Shanghai?”

“It’s busy, noisy and there’s too many people here.”

You laughed at his grousing, knowing he probably didn’t mean a word of it.

“That’ll teach you not to go running across the world in pursuit of how did you put it? A hot piece of ass?”

There was a hoot of laughter you heard in the background of the call and a noise of annoyance from Jamie.

“I had you on speaker phone. He’s going to be insufferable now.”

“When is Skylar not insufferable?”

You figured he wouldn’t have taken you off speaker, he was probably working on something whilst he chatted to you. Your assertion was proved correct by the squawk of protest your statement evoked.

“I’ll have you know I’ve been told I have an irresistible charm.”

“Yes, but anything you tell yourself whilst looking in the mirror doesn’t count.”

You could imagine him sticking his tongue out at the phone. But still he tried a retort.

“Wasn’t me who said it.”

“Yes, but anything Jamie says during or after sex is also out of bounds.”

Skylar laughed and Jamie let out what could only be described as a pained groan.

“What did I do to deserve either of you?”

“You attempted to hack me, and I caught you with your hand in my virtual underwear drawer?”

He groaned again at your reminder.

“What about Skylar?”

“Caught him in my house with his hands in my actual underwear drawer? Figured you two had something in common.”

“In my defence I was just looking for your valuables to liberate.”

Skylar had re-entered the conversation.

“For which I threatened to liberate your brains from your skull with a baseball bat…”

“But you didn’t!”

“Might have knocked some sense into you.”

Jamie cut across both of you. You figured by now both Skylar and you were sticking your tongues out at him. You decided to push on with the conversation.

“So why the call Jamie?”

“I’ve been keeping an eye on your online presence.”

“Should that sound as ominous as it does?”

Jamie paused for a moment.

“Someone has been looking into you online.”

You frowned at the information.

“You know who?”

Jamie was one of the few people who knew about your background, though with Jamie if you hadn’t told him he’d have ripped it from somewhere online, you weren’t naïve enough to believe your grandfather’s identity was a secret to those who wanted to know. Which meant somewhere there was a file on the rest of the family too, yourself included.

“Of course, they weren’t that good at covering their tracks. Looks like it came from Pallay.”

Fantastic, the life you didn’t want was coming back to bite you on the backside.

“From a family called the Liu’s?”

Jamie made an impressed noise, you decided to let him know why you’d been so spot on with your guess.

“I was just talking to Grandad; he was talking about his past and they came up.”

“Well, they were poking around in your digital footprint, so I did some wandering around of my own. Guess what?”

You rolled your eyes.

“What Jamie?”

“They’ve been looking at your Lovelink profile. But that’s not the best bit!”

“So what is?”

“The Crown Prince of Pallay has set up a Lovelink profile too!!!”

An idea started to form in your mind.

“What’s his name Jamie?”

“Sheng Zhao…you going to go hook yourself a Prince?”

Jamie sounded impressed.

“Maybe I will. But I’m going to need some help from you and Skylar. You in?”

“Miss out on this? Not fucking likely.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first conversation with Sheng, which took me forever to type out, but provided me with a great opportunity to add my own comments to it in the form of my character's thoughts about the directions it took.

You waited until you were safely home before opening the Lovelink app and beginning to swipe though the profiles in search of the one you were looking for. The walk home, after ending your call with Jamie had given you time to think, the Crown Prince having set up a Lovelink Profile didn’t really make sense if he were engaged, unless he was unhappy with the arrangement, which was something you could get behind if you were helping him by saving him from a life of misery. Of course, he could just be an insufferable ass looking for a bit on the side to keep him amused, but you’d already decided you weren’t happy to play that part.

The app finally surrendered the profile you were looking for (Once again you wondered why the damn thing didn’t have a search function on it, though that would probably spoil their “random match algorithm” that seemed to how you the same 10 profiles far too often for your liking). You swiped right on the profile, hoping that your own profile picture was attractive enough to snare his interest, having to ask Jamie to hack the app so early on would be embarrassing to say the least. Luckily, he must have liked what he saw, because the screen lit up to indicate you’d matched. The chat window that opened showed he was already typing something out to you.

_Please allow me to introduce myself!_

_Prince Sheng Zhao, heir to the throne of Pallay at your service._

_First time I’ve seen that opener!_

You’d just read the opener; you weren’t quite sure you believed anyone could have been dense enough to write it. Still, it gave you what you needed to respond in the way you imagined 90% of people population would when confronted with a similar scenario. Believing him straight off the bat would either make him suspicious (if this was an act at playing dense) or make you appear to be a completely trusting idiot (In your own mind).

_Opener?_

_Don’t people usually start by introducing themselves?_

_Not as royalty they don’t!_

_Well that makes sense,_

_Most people on Lovelink aren’t royalty are they?_

Okay, so he was, intentionally or otherwise, playing his cards close to his chest, so you couldn’t decide whether this was an act. Time to carry on with the clueless routine.

_You’re saying you’re a REAL prince?_

_LOL, yes! Why would I lie about that?_

It was getting more believable that he really was just being honest and wasn’t playing a game with you, though that didn’t stop you from playing games with him.

_Let me guess, you’ve been exiled from your home,_

_And you need me to front you some money so you can get to safety and access your fortune?_

_Then you’ll reward me with riches beyond imagination?_

_Ok, I think I understand now – you think I’m trying to scam you._

Give the boy a prize, there was a brain behind the pretty face.

_Well, you weren’t exactly subtle,_

_But come on, lemme hear the next line – how much money do you need from me?_

_None LOL, I’m pretty rich._

_To be honest I sort of expected people to be asking ME for money._

Ouch, and maybe a little more arrogance than you were comfortable with. That would have to be correctly quickly, should it rear its ugly head again. Trying to address it in an opening icebreaker though wouldn’t endear you to him. Time to continue playing the fish…

_Smart move scammer_

_Offer your money first then ask for mine, I see what you’re doing._

_How can I convince you that I’m real?_

You didn’t need proof he was real; Jamie had already checked out everything he needed to ensure the profile belonged to the person it claimed to be, admitting that though would be tantamount to cutting his own throat.

_I need hard evidence!_

_Would a picture suffice?_

_With you in it, full Prince mode?_

_LOL, yes… but later…_

Time to change tack a little, the “scam” thing was getting old.

_Of course,_

_Maybe you’re not a scammer, but you definitely seem like a catfish right now._

_Why no pics?_

_This phone is brand new._

_The plot thickens! Why the new phone?_

_Well, I’m trying to keep the whole Lovelink thing secret._

It was on the tip of your tongue to point out that his chances of that happening were equivalent to a snowballs chance in hell. There were enough interested parties in this saga that if it hadn’t already gone un-noticed then it was only a matter of time, which made it all the more important that you continued to play the oblivious idiot until you could meet in person and decide whether you should confide in him your identity.

_Why?_

_So many questions!_

With so few answers the sarcastic portion of your brain supplied, reminding you why you always loathed the “getting to know you” aspect of relationship on a dating app. You might be too old fashioned, but you certainly preferred face to face meetings over a nice meal, the same intimacy couldn’t be achieved with a conversation via text.

_LOL, you’re the one with the sketchy royal background…_

_I’m just trying to figure out if you’re for real._

_Hahaha, I guess that’s fair._

_To answer your latest question…_

_Someone in my position shouldn’t really be on a dating app._

_But I want to see how normal people live._

Normal people? What the hell was he smoking? Did he seriously think this was what normal people spent their lives doing? Your own experience had shown Lovelink seemed the refuge of the time deprived loners whose lives were mostly consumed by the jobs they took to ensure the bills were paid on time, or another segment by people looking to have a one-night stand or affair. Assuming that this was what happened normally made him sound so out of touch…

Quashing any impulse to shoot that comment down in flames you took a deep breath, reminded yourself you were playing dense and went back to your original premise of what you “believed” he was on the app.

_Well, what do you want to know?_

Give him enough rope to hang himself.

_Anything you want to share!_

Which he fell for, hook, line and sinker.

_The street I grew up on?_

_Sure!_

_My mother’s maiden name?_

_Oddly specific for a first chat, but why not?_

_Followed by the security code behind my credit card?_

He couldn’t be stupid enough to miss that dig.

_Oh…you’re making fun of me aren’t you?_

Bingo.

_Sorry, I had to._

_I mean a Prince? Really?_

You re-read your comment, wincing internally at how stupid you must be sounding right now.

_We’re still talking, you must believe me, at least a bit._

_Maybe your brain thinks I’m lying, but your heart knows better._

_Ok, ok, that’s a good one._

_And we only just met, If you let me, I’ll sweep you off your feet._

Great, the conversation was turning into a trashy romance novel, time to shut that down.

_Sounds familiar…_

_There was a bit of a scandal last year that got a bunch of press – maybe you saw that?_

An odd change of tack for the conversation, but you decided to see where it went. Still, he could work for your attention.

_I don’t keep up with the tabloids._

False, but it seemed a popular personality trait for your persona to have. You’d personally lost track of the number of people who claimed to have no interest in such matters, just for them to talk you ear off at the slightest chance about which celebrity was dating who, the latest scandal to hit the headlines. You tended to read the papers from cover to cover to get titbits of information to drop into conversations as bait.

_Really? I love that! I hate gossip too!_

Yet you’re on a dating app discussing gossip? Point proven. Again, you refrained from typing that.

_Though this Scandal was kind of…epic._

Sheng was obviously playing for your interest, you decided to grant him the permission he craved.

_You want to tell me about it, don’t you?_

_Go ahead then._

_Two Soldiers manning the border between Pallay and Meneki got into a secret relationship._

You did remember reading that one. Still, you were pretending not to know so…

_How is that a scandal?_

_We’ve been on the brink of war with Meneki for decades._

_Wow that’s just…_

What was the best way of responding to this in a manner that made it appear you hadn’t grasped the seriousness of the situation?

_Hilarious!_

That would do it, completely inappropriate response. Take that anyone reading this conversation later, if that didn’t cement your position as a clueless halfwit…

_Seriously! Everyone was calling it “treason” but I just…_

_I had a hard time not smirking during press conferences…_

You re-read his response twice before you could believe he’d typed that. He was doing very well at casting himself in the role of oblivious airhead too. You decided to push a little further.

_You’re not upset about it?_

_How could I, I’m in favour of people finding love where they can._

_It’s why I’m on Lovelink after all!_

That was quite sweet. You wondered whether he’d missed a small article a few weeks later that had mentioned in passing the untimely demise of the two parties involved in a “tragic accident”, involving a malfunctioning boiler, resulting in carbon monoxide poisoning. Probably, if he still thought they were out there living a life together, allowed to be happy. Best not shatter that happy bubble of his just yet, you weren’t planning to try and destroy him.

_So you are looking for love!_

_I bet if you drop the prince act, we’d get along._

_But it’s not an act, I swear!_

_You’ll just have to send me a picture._

_Is being a royal as fun as it looks in the movies?_

God you really loathed the part you were playing. Best though that you were thought of as a child raised on Hollywood notions of romance and happily ever after.

_Do you want to know what the benefits of dating a prince would be?_

Total lack of privacy? Your life under a media microscope? You inwardly rolled your eyes as you forced yourself to respond.

_Do tell!_

_Hmm…where to start?_

_How about this – Is there anything in you’re not happy with in your life?_

How about the direction this conversation was going in? Time for moron to make an appearance again.

_LOL, where do I start?_

_I wish I had more freedom._

_I never have time to actually do what I want!_

God help you if his follow up question was what you wanted free time to do. Rescuing the land that was yours by birth right from the increasingly violent attentions of his Kingdom would hardly be a response he was happy to read. Would probably attract all sorts of the wrong kind of attention and you’d be looking at your own hastily arranged demise.

_Perfect, I have an abundance of free time._

_Don’t get me wrong, there are some responsibilities that come with royalty…_

_Haha, let me guess – cutting ribbons with oversized scissors?_

_Did you just hack my calendar?_

Nope, but my friend did hack your profile, alerted me that my profile had been hacked and is probably reading this conversation as we write it, laughing himself sick with his boyfriend about how I’m playing stupid.

_LOL_

_My “job” is to represent the country._

So not a job really at all, more an expectation.

_Actually sounds like you have no freedom_

_Well, there are certainly some social expectations_

_But the pros outweigh the cons_

_What exactly do you mean with “social expectations”?_

_As long as I stay classy, then I can do whatever I want!_

Stay classy? Somehow in your mind that translated to “sit back, shut up, accept this is your lot in life and don’t cause problems”. Still, as you were playing at seeking your happily ever after…

_How do I get some of that freedom myself?_

_Hang out with me._

Did people still refer to it as hanging out? Next thing you knew he’d be asking to court you.

_Are you asking me out Sheng?_

_Not until you are SURE I’m not trying to scam you, but yes._

_That is the purpose of a dating app._

No shit Sherlock. You rolled you eyes, wondering when you’d be freed from the purgatory of the role, you’d forced upon yourself.

_LOL, if we do end up going on a date, just know my expectations are VERY high._

_Wow, now I’m really hoping you’re legit!_

_I’m curious, if you think I’m not actually the person in my profile pic…_

_Why did you match with me?_

You’re the first step in my revenge against the Liu’s? Nope, that would let the cat out of the bag.

_Out of curiosity, I figured our talk would be hilarious._

_Hopefully, it was more than just entertaining._

_I’d really like to get to know you better._

_LOL, I’m still not sending you any money._

Why couldn’t you just let go of that joke?

_I’m just imagining your face when you find out I’m telling the truth!_

_What does it look like?_

_Besides gorgeous with a hint of adorably abashed?_

_Nobody’s ever complimented me on hypothetical emotions!_

_You’d look great – whatever the emotion._

_But I’m afraid some palace duties require my attention now._

_I’ll be back tomorrow with that picture._

Thank goodness, anymore of that and you’d be worried out holding onto the contents of your stomach.

_I can’t believe I’m saying this, but…_

_Can’t wait!_

His profile changed to show he was offline, and you exited the app, making sure you checked the box to be notified when he was back online so you could resume your conversation where it left off. Almost immediately you phone pinged to show you had a message, and checking it you could see Jamie had sent you a emoji of a vomiting face.

_I know,_

You text back to him, pausing for a second before you decided to continue.

_Managed to turn my own stomach too. How was it?_

He responded almost immediately.

_Rather good, ready for round 2?_

You thought about it. You supposed you were as ready as you’d ever be for another round of playing stupid. You sent back a thumbs up.


End file.
